Liquid-gaseous interaction toy

ABSTRACT

A toy that tests the skill of a user in performing a function is described which relies for operation on the interaction of various substances having different specific gravities. A tubular container is provided for supporting a column of a liquid such as water, and a syringe-type squeeze bulb communicates with the bottom of the container to enable introduction of controlled amounts of air into the bottom of the column. A capsule is also provided having a greater specific gravity than the liquid in the container so that the same will normally sink through the liquid in the container. The capsule includes a chamber for capturing air which has been introduced into the container. Since air is a gas and has a lower specific gravity than the liquid, it will tend to rise within the column. By controlling the amount of air introduced into the liquid for capture by the capsule, a user of the toy can control the movement of the capsule. That is, the user can slow the descent of the capsule by introducing a small amount of air, suspend the capsule at a prescribed location within the liquid by introducing a specific greater amount of air, and reverse the direction of the capsule by introducing more air.

United States Patent 1 Kramer 1 May 22, 1973 [54] LIQUID-GASEOUSINTERACTION TOY Frederick J. Kramer, 686 28th Street, Oakland, Calif.94609 [22] Filed: Oct. 7, 1971 [21] App]. No.: 187,420

[76] Inventor:

Primary Examiner-Hugh R. Chamblee Assistant ExaminerRobert F. CuttingAttorney-C. Michael Zimmerman 57 ABSTRACT A toy that tests the skill ofa user in performing a function is described which relies for operationon the interaction of various substances having different specificgravities. A tubular container is provided for supporting a column of aliquid such as water, and a syringe-type squeeze bulb communicates withthe bottom of the container to enable introduction of controlled amountsof air into the bottom of the column. A capsule is also provided havinga greater specific gravity than the liquid in the container so that thesame will normally sink through the liquid in the container. The capsuleincludes a chamber for capturing air which has been introduced into thecontainer. Since air is a gas and has a lower specific gravity than theliquid, it will tend to rise within the column. By

controlling the amount of air introduced into the liquid for capture bythe capsule, a user of the toy can control the movement of the capsule.That is, the user can slow the descent of the capsule by introducing asmall amount of air, suspend the capsule at a prescribed location withinthe liquid by introducing a specific greater amount of air, and reversethe direction of the capsule by introducing more air.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED Z E ede K lih/ l 1N VENTOR rickgfXramar ATTORNEY LIQUID-GASEOUS INTERACTION TOY BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The present invention relates to a toy utilizing theinteraction of various substances having different specific gravitiesand, more particularly, to such a toy which utilizes such interaction inproviding a toy testing a skill of a user.

Toys that test the skill of a user in performing a par ticular functionare generally the most interesting both to children and adults alike. Anexample of such a toy is a maze which is to be variously oriented by auser in particular ways to move a ball on a prescribed path through themaze. Toys of this general type require determination and concentrationon the part of the user and thus hold a users attention. However, mostof such toys now available rely upon minor variations in princi- 7 picsand phenomena which are so extensively used in toys that the toyspresent little or no novelty to potential'users and buyers. Because ofsuch, toy manufacturers are constantly seeking unique toys of the skilltype which are based upon phenomena not normally found in the toy field.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a toy which makes useof the different specific gravities of several substances in providing atest of skill requiring a high degree of expertise for mastery. To thisend, the toy comprises a container for holding a liquid substance suchas water. Means are provided for introducing into the container at alocation below the upper surface level of the liquid, controlled amountsofa second substance, such as air or other gas, having a lower specificgravity than the liquid. Because of this difference in specificgravities, the second substance will tend to rise within the liquid toits upper surface. While this phenomenon may be used in a toy in variousmanners, most desirably the combination further includes a thirdsubstance, such as a cap sule made of a solid material, which has agreater specific gravity than the liquid. The third substance is alsoprovided within the container and is moveable therein in a generallyvertical direction above the location at which the second substance,e.g., air, is introduced into the container.

As a particularly salient feature of the instant invention, the thirdsubstance includes means for intercepting and capturing the controlledamounts of the second substance introduced into the container. It willbe appreciated that because the second substance has a lower specificgravity than the liquid and therefore tends to rise through the same,its combination with the third substance will provide a combinedsubstance having a specific gravity which is between that of either thesecond or third substances alone. This specific gravity can be varied bychanging the proportion of the second substance to the third substance.Since both the velocity of a substance through a liquid and the depth towhich it will descend depend upon its specific gravity, it will be seenthat a user can, with skill, control both such velocity and depth bycontrolling the amount of such second substance which is introduced intothe container.

Most desirably, as mentioned before, the second substance is a gaseoussubstance such as air. There is a great diversity between the specificgravities of most liquids and gases with the result that introduction ofeven a small amount of the gas into the liquid for capture by the thirdsubstance can have a relatively large affect on the velocity andpositioning of the third substance within the liquid. Thus, a relativelygreat amount of skill on the part of the user in controlling the amountsof gas introduced into the liquid will be required to provide a desiredvelocity of the third substance through the liquid or to suspend thesame at a desired depth.

The third substance is preferably in the form of a capsule which isadapted to selectively release any captured gaseous substance so thatits specific gravity will once again be greater than that of the liquidand it will descend downwardly through the liquid. As a particularlysalient feature of the instant invention, this function is automaticallyprovided in a simple and effective manner by merely having perforationsof certain crosssectional area extending through the upper wall of thatportion of the capsule which captures the gas. That is, the size of eachof the perforations through the wall are such relative to the liquidwithin which the capsule is submerged that the combined effect of thehydrostatic pressure of the liquid and its surface tension will preventpassage through the apertures of the gas, as long as the capsule remainssubmerged. Thus, the capsule will act as desired to effectively trap thegaseous substance in spite of the perforations. However, when thecapsule reaches the surface of the liquid, the hydrostatic pressure ofthe liquid will be removed from the capsule wall and the perforationswill open to allow escape of the trapped gas. The specific gravity ofthe capsule will thus be once again increased to a value greater thanthat of the liquid substance and the capsule will sink through theliquid. The toy of the invention is again ready for controlled amountsof the gaseous substance to be introduced into the liquid for changingthe specific gravity of the capsule and thus controllably affecting itsmovement through the liquid substance.

The invention includes other features and advantages which will becomeapparent from the following more detailed description of a preferredembodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING With reference to the accompanyingsingle sheet of drawing:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a preferred embodiment of the inventionbeing manipulated by a user;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, partial view of a lower segment of the embodimentof FIG. 1, with portions thereof broken away to illustrate itsconstruction; and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged, partial views of an upper segment of theembodiment of FIG. 1, illustrating the capsule thereof in differentlocations relative to the remainder of the apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference is first madeto FIG. 1 in which a preferred embodiment of the toy of the invention isgenerally referred to by the reference numeral 11. As is illustrated,the toy 11 includes a liquid container in the form of an elongated,cylindrical tube 12. The tube 12 is supported in a generally uprightposition by a base 13. Both the tube 12 and the base 13 can be made of apolyolefin plastic material such as polyethylene, and most simplysecured together as shown in FIG. 2 by a recessed bolt 14 extending fromthe underneath surface of the base 13 into the bottom end wall 16.

Tube 12 is open at its top but is otherwise liquid impervious so thatthe same will hold the liquid. As is illustrated, the tube is filledwith such liquid up to a level referred to by the reference numeral 17adjacent its upper end. For reasons which will become apparenthereinafter, the tube 12 is most desirably transparent to enable visualchecking of its interior.

As an important part of the invention, means are provided forintroducing into the tube 12 at a location below the upper surface level17 of liquid therein, controlled amounts of a gaseous substance, such asair, having a lower specific gravity than the liquid. Most desirably,the means for introducing the gas into the container is adapted to sointroduce such gas adjacent the bottom of the tube so that a relativelylong travel distance for the gas through the liquid is provided. To thisend, a gas inlet tube 18 extends radially into the lower end wall of thetube and terminates therein in an elbow 19 from which an inlet nipple 21extends upwardly coaxially of the tube. A hand-operated air pump in theform of a syringe-type squeezable bulb 22 is communicably connected withthe inlet end of the tube 18 via a flexible conduit 23. The syringe bulb22 provides means by which a user can pump a chosen volume of airthrough the inlet tube 18 into the liquid within tube 12.

Preferably, means are provided for automatically refilling the squeezebulb 22 with air after it has been compressed, so that the same will beready for subsequent pumping uses. To this end, the upper end of thesqueeze bulb is provided with a check valve which allows air to enterthe squeeze bulb upon the resiliency of the same expanding it from acompressed condition, but which does not allow air to pass out of thebulb when it is being compressed. Most simply, such check valve is inthe form of an aperture 24 in the upper end of the bulb having a flap 26secured within the bulb responsive to pressure from within the bulb bysealingly engaging the inner surface thereof around the periphery of theaperture.

As is best illustrated in FIG. 2, the air inlet nipple 21 extendsupwardly into the interior of the tube from its bottom end wall 16. Itis also provided with a check valve which allows flow of air into theliquid but prevents reverse flow of the liquid through the inlet tubeand thus out of the container 12. As a feature of the instant invention,such check valve is simply provided by a bulb 27 which is received overthe outlet end of the nipple 21 and closes the same. The bulb 27 is of apliant material and includes a slit opening 28 extending through itsrounded top. It will be appreciated that with such an arrangement, thehydrostatic pressure of the liquid, coupled with the resiliency of thebulb, will tend to normally maintain the slit 28 closed as isillustrated in FIG. 2. However, upon the syringe bulb 22 beingcompressed to apply air pressure on the interior of valve bulb 27, suchpressure will force the slit open so that such air escapes from the bulbin the form of bubbles, such as is represented in FIG. 1 by bubble 29.

As described to this point, the present invention provides a toy whichutilizes the interaction of two substances having different specificgravities to provide an effect which is usable in various ways. That is,the invention provides means for containing a column of a liquid such aswater and for introducing into the column adjacent its bottom a gashaving a lower specific gravity than the liquid. This will result in thegas rising within the column of liquid to its upper surface level. Thegas will be in the form of bubbles and will wobble" as they ascendthrough the column of liquid. Since the squeeze bulb 22 enablescontrolled amounts of the gas, in this case air, to be introduced intothe liquid column, various effects can be created.

Although the apparatus of the invention as set forth above has utilityin its own right, most desirably the combination further includes athird substance in the form of a capsule 31 which has a greater specificgravity than the liquid and which is also moveable in the container 12.Because of its greater specific gravity, capsule 31 will tend to descendthrough the liquid, rather than rise in the same as does air. Byincluding as a part of the capsule, means for capturing the controlledamounts of air which are introduced into the liquid, the specificgravity of the capsule, i.e., the combination of the capsule and thecaptured air, can be varied to control the movement of the same throughthe column of water. That is, by appropriately choosing the amount ofair introduced into the tube for capture by the capsule, the velocity ofdescent of the capsule through the column can be suitably controlled,e.g., the capsule can be made to stop and become suspended at aparticular location, or it can be made to reverse its direction ofmovement and rise in the column.

In more detail, the capsule 31 includes a cylindrical tube portion 32having an outer side configuration generally conforming to the interiorside configuration of the tube 12. The diameter of the outer side of thetube portion 32 should be less than the interior diameter of thecontainer 12 so that the capsule is freely moveable vertically in thecontainer tube.

Capsule 31 further includes a dome-shaped cap portion 33 which isperipherally secured to the upper end of the tube portion 32. It will beseen that with this dome portion, the capsule presents a chamber havinga downwardly opening mouth 34 for interception and capture of any airwhich has been introduced into the column of liquid and is risingtherein.

As a particularly salient feature of the instant invention, thedome-shaped cap portion 33 of the capsule is provided with apertureswhich extend therethrough and which meet certain criteria. Suchapertures are most simply provided in the dome portion by having thedome portion itself made from a mesh material, such as from a metalscreen.

The provision of the perforations through the cap 33 will facilitate thedescent of the capsule through the liquid. That is, as the capsuledescends, the liquid can pass through the cap so that the chamberdefined by the capsule will not hinder such descent to any appreciableextent. However, the size of the apertures are so chosen that while thecap portion 33 is submerged within the liquid, such apertures will notallow escape from the capsule of any air trapped within the capsule. Theparticular area size of apertures which will provide this function willdepend, of course, on the particular liquid within the column, thematerial of the dome, the particular gas which it is desired to trap andthe specific gravity of the capsule. As an example, it has been foundthat when the liquid is water, the gas air, and the specific gravity ofthe capsule is only slightly greater than one, a brass strainer clothhaving a l/32 inch mesh allows passage of the water when the capsule issinking but quite appropriately prevents air introduced into the waterfrom passing through the cap portion as long as it is submerged. FIG. 3illustrates the capsule of the invention so trapping a quantity of air.

Although the mechanism by which the liquid passes through theperforations while the gas is retained within the capsule is not fullyunderstood with certainty, it is believed to be the result of combinedaction of the surface tension of the liquid, which will form filmclosures over the openings, and the hydrostatic pressure of the liquidon the dome.

The provision of perforations in the cap 33 also provide another quiteadvantageous function of the invention. That is, upon the capsule 37rising within the liquid to a location at which at least a portion ofthe cap is at or above the liquid surface 17, the trapped gas within thecapsule will escape through the perforations from the capsule and thusonce again return the capsules specific gravity to a value greater thanthat of the liquid within which it is immersed. Because of thisautomatic release of gas from the capsule, it is a simple matter toprepare the apparatus of the invention for subsequent uses. That is, itis only necessary to compress the bulb 22 to introduce into the tubesufficient amounts of air to cause the capsule to rise to the surface ofthe liquid. The resulting loss of air by the capsule will allow the sameto begin descending within the liquid so that controlled amounts of airsubsequently introduced into the liquid can be used to control itsmovement. FIG. 4 graphically illustratesthe release of air by thecapsule upon the cap rising above the upper surface 17 of the liquid.

There are various games of skill which can be played withthe apparatusof the invention. For example, one can start with the capsule 31 sinkingwithin the container from the surface of the liquid, and introducecontrolled amounts of air into the liquid in an attempt to change thespecific gravity of the capsule to that value which will result in itbeing suspended in the container at a predetermined depth. In thisconnection, the container 12 is provided vertically along its outersurface with indicia in the form of numbered regions 34 representativeof various depths within the liquid. In a game with more than onparticipant, points can be assigned to each of the levels represented bythe regions 34, and the points assigned to any particular region awardedto a participant capable of suspending the capsule within such region.The object of such a game could be to accumulate the greatest number ofpoints. Because there is a great diversity between the specific gravityof the air introduced into the tube and the liquid, even a small amountof air differential can cause a large difference in the location atwhich the capsule will become suspended. Thus a great deal of skill isrequired to successfully play the game.

Another game with which the invention is usable and that does notrequire the same high degree of skill as the one discussed above is onein which the object is to reverse the direction of movement of thecapsule at predetermined regions. This can be accomplished by the userintroducing a relatively large amount of air, i.e., enough air to changethe specific gravity of the capsule to a value lower than that of theliquid, at the appropriate time during its descent so that such air willbe intercepted by the capsule at the desired region. A moresophisticated game requiring a large amount of skill is one in which theapparatus is utilized in combination with a stop watch to control thetime taken for the capsule to descend within the tube to a particularlocation. This is accomplished, for example, by intermittentlyintroducing small amounts of air into the liquid to change the specificgravity of the capsule as it descends.

The above uses for the toy of the invention are samples of the many waysin which the interaction of various substances having different specificgravities can be advantageously incorporated into a toy. It will beapparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications in theapparatus are possible without departing from the spirit of theinvention. It is therefore intended that the afforded coverage belimited only by the claims and their equivalents.

I claim:

1. A toy utilizing the interaction of a gaseous substance with a liquidsubstance comprising a container for said liquid substance, means forintroducing into said container at a location below the upper surfacelevel of liquid substance therein controlled amounts of a gaseoussubstance having a lower specific gravity than said liquid substancewhereby said gaseous substance will rise in said liquid substance towardsaid upper surface level thereof, a capsule having a greater specificgravity than said liquid substance and generally vertically moveable insaid container above the location at which said gaseous substance isintroducible therein, said capsule including means for capturingsufficient amounts of said gaseous substance introduced into saidcontainer at said location to lower the capsules specific gravity to avalue lower than that of said liquid substance whereby said capsule willrise in said container, and being adapted to selectively release saidcaptured gaseous substance so that the capsules specific gravity isreturned to a value greater than that of said liquid substance and thesame decends within said container, said means of said capsule forcapturing said gaseous substance including a chamber having a downwardlyopening mouth for receiving said gaseous substance as the same riseswithin said liquid substance, and the upper wall of said chamber beingperforated with openings of an area which are closed by said liquidsubstance to the passage therethrough of said gaseous substance whensaid upper wall is submerged within said liquid substance but which areof an area enabling said passage of said gaseous substance therethroughupon said upper wall reaching said upper surface level of said liquidsubstance to thereby provide said selective release of said liquidsubstance to thereby provide said selective release of said capturedgaseous substance.

2. A toy utilizing the interaction of a gaseous substance with a liquidsubstance comprising a container for said liquid substance, means forintroducing into said container at a location below the upper surfacelevel of liquid substance therein controlled amounts of a gaseoussubstance having a lower specific gravity than said liquid substancewhereby said gaseous substance will rise in said liquid substance towardsaid upper surface level thereof, a capsule having a greater specificgravity than said liquid substance and generally vertically moveable insaid container above the location at which said gaseous substance isintroducible therein, said capsule including means for capturingsufficient amounts of said gaseous substance introduced into saidcontainer at said location to lower the capsules specific gravity to avalue lower than that of said liquid substance whereby said capsule willrise in said container, and being adapted to selectively release saidcaptured gaseous substance so that the capsules specific gravity isreturned to a value greater than that of said liquid substance and thesame descends within said container, said container being a generallyupright and elongated tube and said capsule having an exterior sideconfiguration generally conforming to the interior wall configuration ofsaid tube so that said tube acts as a guide for said movement of saidcapsule between said location at which said gaseous substance isintroducible therein and said upper surface level, and said tubularcontainer including a transparent portion enabling visual checking ofthe location therein of said capsule and having indicia spacedvertically therealong representative of various locations therewithinfor said capsule which depend upon the amount of gaseous substanceintroduced into said tube and captured by said capsule.

3. A toy utilizing the interaction of a gaseous substance with a liquidsubstance comprising a container for said liquid substance, means forintroducing into said container at a location below the upper surfacelevel of liquid substance therein controlled amounts of a gaseoussubstance having a lower specific gravity than said liquid substancewhereby said gaseous substance will rise in said liquid substance towardsaid upper surface level thereof, said container being a generallyupright and elongated tube and said means for introducing said gaseoussubstance therein being adapted to so introduce said substance adjacentthe bottom of said tube whereby a relatively long travel distance forsaid gaseous substance is provided through said liquid substance, saidgaseous substance being air introduced into said container through acheck valve which allows flow of such air into said container but blocksreverse flow of said liquid substance through said valve from saidcontainer, said check valve being in the form of a bulb made of a pliantmaterial closing the end of an air inlet nipple extending inwardly ofsaid tubular container, said pliant bulb having a slit opening which isresponsive to air pressure on the interior of said bulb by opening toallow air introduced into said nipple to enter said tubular containerand responsive to pressure of said fluid substance on the exterior ofsaid bulb by closing to prevent said vluid substance from flowing intosaid nipple from said container.

4. A toy utilizing the interaction of a gaseous substance with a liquidsubstance comprising a container for said liquid substance, means forintroducing into said container at a location below the upper surfacelevel of liquid substance therein controlled amounts of a gaseoussubstance having a lower specific gravity than said liquid substancewhereby said gaseous substance will rise in said liquid substance towardsaid upper surface level thereof, said container being a generally upright and elongated tube and said means for introducing said gaseoussubstance therein being adapted to so introduce said substance adjacentthe bottom of said tube whereby a relatively long travel distance forsaid gaseous substance is provided through said liquid substance, and ahand-operated air pump is provided for manually pumping said controlledamounts of air through said valve into said container, saidhand-operated air pump being in the form of a syringe-type squeezablebulb having a check valve enabling automatic filling of the same withair, the outlet of said bulb being communicably connected with an inlettube extending through the wall of said container.

5. The toy of claim 4 wherein said combination further includes acapsule having a greater specific gravity than said liquid substance andgenerally vertically moveable in said tube between the location at whichsaid gaseous substance is introducible therein and said upper surfacelevel with the exterior side configuration of said capsule generallyconforming to the interior wall configuration of said tube so that saidtube acts as a guide for said capsule movement, said capsule including achamber having a downwardly opening mouth for capturing sufficientgaseous substance introduced into said container as the same riseswithin said liquid substance to lower the capsules specific gravity to avalue lower than that of said liquid substance whereby said capsule willrise in said container, the upper wall of said chamber being perforatedwith openings of an area which are closed by said liquid substance tothe passage therethrough of said gaseous substance when said upper wallis submerged within said liquid substance but which are of an areaenabling said passage of said gaseous substance therethrough upon saidupper wall reaching said upper surface level of said liquid substance tothereby provide release of captured gaseous substance to return thespecific gravity of said capsule to a value greater than that of saidliquid substance so that the same descends within said container, andsaid tubular container being transparent to enable visual checking by auser of the location therein of said capsule and having indicia spacedvertically therealong representative of various locations therewithinfor said capsule which depend upon the amount of gaseous substanceintroduced into said tube and captured by said capsule.

1. A toy utilizing the interaction of a gaseous substance with a liquidsubstance comprising a container for said liquid substance, means forintroducing into said container at a location below the uppeR surfacelevel of liquid substance therein controlled amounts of a gaseoussubstance having a lower specific gravity than said liquid substancewhereby said gaseous substance will rise in said liquid substance towardsaid upper surface level thereof, a capsule having a greater specificgravity than said liquid substance and generally vertically moveable insaid container above the location at which said gaseous substance isintroducible therein, said capsule including means for capturingsufficient amounts of said gaseous substance introduced into saidcontainer at said location to lower the capsule''s specific gravity to avalue lower than that of said liquid substance whereby said capsule willrise in said container, and being adapted to selectively release saidcaptured gaseous substance so that the capsule''s specific gravity isreturned to a value greater than that of said liquid substance and thesame decends within said container, said means of said capsule forcapturing said gaseous substance including a chamber having a downwardlyopening mouth for receiving said gaseous substance as the same riseswithin said liquid substance, and the upper wall of said chamber beingperforated with openings of an area which are closed by said liquidsubstance to the passage therethrough of said gaseous substance whensaid upper wall is submerged within said liquid substance but which areof an area enabling said passage of said gaseous substance therethroughupon said upper wall reaching said upper surface level of said liquidsubstance to thereby provide said selective release of said liquidsubstance to thereby provide said selective release of said capturedgaseous substance.
 2. A toy utilizing the interaction of a gaseoussubstance with a liquid substance comprising a container for said liquidsubstance, means for introducing into said container at a location belowthe upper surface level of liquid substance therein controlled amountsof a gaseous substance having a lower specific gravity than said liquidsubstance whereby said gaseous substance will rise in said liquidsubstance toward said upper surface level thereof, a capsule having agreater specific gravity than said liquid substance and generallyvertically moveable in said container above the location at which saidgaseous substance is introducible therein, said capsule including meansfor capturing sufficient amounts of said gaseous substance introducedinto said container at said location to lower the capsule''s specificgravity to a value lower than that of said liquid substance whereby saidcapsule will rise in said container, and being adapted to selectivelyrelease said captured gaseous substance so that the capsule''s specificgravity is returned to a value greater than that of said liquidsubstance and the same descends within said container, said containerbeing a generally upright and elongated tube and said capsule having anexterior side configuration generally conforming to the interior wallconfiguration of said tube so that said tube acts as a guide for saidmovement of said capsule between said location at which said gaseoussubstance is introducible therein and said upper surface level, and saidtubular container including a transparent portion enabling visualchecking of the location therein of said capsule and having indiciaspaced vertically therealong representative of various locationstherewithin for said capsule which depend upon the amount of gaseoussubstance introduced into said tube and captured by said capsule.
 3. Atoy utilizing the interaction of a gaseous substance with a liquidsubstance comprising a container for said liquid substance, means forintroducing into said container at a location below the upper surfacelevel of liquid substance therein controlled amounts of a gaseoussubstance having a lower specific gravity than said liquid substancewhereby said gaseous substance will rise in said liquid substance towardsaid upper surface level thereof, said container being a generalLyupright and elongated tube and said means for introducing said gaseoussubstance therein being adapted to so introduce said substance adjacentthe bottom of said tube whereby a relatively long travel distance forsaid gaseous substance is provided through said liquid substance, saidgaseous substance being air introduced into said container through acheck valve which allows flow of such air into said container but blocksreverse flow of said liquid substance through said valve from saidcontainer, said check valve being in the form of a bulb made of a pliantmaterial closing the end of an air inlet nipple extending inwardly ofsaid tubular container, said pliant bulb having a slit opening which isresponsive to air pressure on the interior of said bulb by opening toallow air introduced into said nipple to enter said tubular containerand responsive to pressure of said fluid substance on the exterior ofsaid bulb by closing to prevent said vluid substance from flowing intosaid nipple from said container.
 4. A toy utilizing the interaction of agaseous substance with a liquid substance comprising a container forsaid liquid substance, means for introducing into said container at alocation below the upper surface level of liquid substance thereincontrolled amounts of a gaseous substance having a lower specificgravity than said liquid substance whereby said gaseous substance willrise in said liquid substance toward said upper surface level thereof,said container being a generally up right and elongated tube and saidmeans for introducing said gaseous substance therein being adapted to sointroduce said substance adjacent the bottom of said tube whereby arelatively long travel distance for said gaseous substance is providedthrough said liquid substance, and a hand-operated air pump is providedfor manually pumping said controlled amounts of air through said valveinto said container, said hand-operated air pump being in the form of asyringe-type squeezable bulb having a check valve enabling automaticfilling of the same with air, the outlet of said bulb being communicablyconnected with an inlet tube extending through the wall of saidcontainer.
 5. The toy of claim 4 wherein said combination furtherincludes a capsule having a greater specific gravity than said liquidsubstance and generally vertically moveable in said tube between thelocation at which said gaseous substance is introducible therein andsaid upper surface level with the exterior side configuration of saidcapsule generally conforming to the interior wall configuration of saidtube so that said tube acts as a guide for said capsule movement, saidcapsule including a chamber having a downwardly opening mouth forcapturing sufficient gaseous substance introduced into said container asthe same rises within said liquid substance to lower the capsule''sspecific gravity to a value lower than that of said liquid substancewhereby said capsule will rise in said container, the upper wall of saidchamber being perforated with openings of an area which are closed bysaid liquid substance to the passage therethrough of said gaseoussubstance when said upper wall is submerged within said liquid substancebut which are of an area enabling said passage of said gaseous substancetherethrough upon said upper wall reaching said upper surface level ofsaid liquid substance to thereby provide release of captured gaseoussubstance to return the specific gravity of said capsule to a valuegreater than that of said liquid substance so that the same descendswithin said container, and said tubular container being transparent toenable visual checking by a user of the location therein of said capsuleand having indicia spaced vertically therealong representative ofvarious locations therewithin for said capsule which depend upon theamount of gaseous substance introduced into said tube and captured bysaid capsule.